CHICAGO, Nov. 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, during the 2016 LeadingAge Annual Meeting and Expo in Indianapolis, IN, CNA released its most recent Aging Services Claim Report. The 2016 report, Using Evidence to Achieve Excellence: Engage, Lead, Succeed, analyzes CNA claim data to provide recommendations that aging services leaders can implement in their efforts to enhance resident safety.

"This report is intended to help senior living communities better understand the risks associated with providing care for the aging population, and to offer practical actions to enhance resident safety," said Ellen Wodika, Risk Control Consulting Director, CNA Healthcare, and co-author of the report. "We interviewed high performing organizations in order to provide real life solutions successfully created and utilized by our clients. These 'Reports from the Field' demonstrate the impact of implementing recommended risk control actions on reducing resident falls and pressure ulcers, which this report identifies as the major challenges experienced by aging services organizations."

As resident falls continue to be the most frequent allegation in professional liability claims asserted against aging services organization, the analysis was expanded to include additional fall-related claim data addressing whether the fall was witnessed, whether the resident had a history of previous falls, as well as the outcome of the fall-related injury. The report also focuses on pressure ulcers, which are identified as a leading source of injury with potentially life-altering results for residents.

Cyber liability represents another predominant risk encountered by senior living communities.  The data cited in the report demonstrates that cyber liability resulted in high cost, rather than high claim frequency. "Hacking" is identified as the cause of loss with the highest average total paid among cyber-related closed claims, while "data theft/loss" and "unauthorized access" are cited as the top two most frequent sources of cyber liability exposures. In addition, water damage to property and auto accidents represent significant risk exposures encountered by aging services organizations, requiring the attention of leadership in order to reduce losses and safeguard both residents and staff.

The report discusses case scenarios, noting allegations and outlining risk management recommendations. A self-assessment tool to help aging services organizations identify and address risk exposures also is presented.

"From the study, we learned that there is a significant differentiator between organizations that are challenged by ongoing issues related to resident falls, pressure ulcers and other risk exposures experienced by senior living communities and those that are considered 'high performing'.  The differentiator that distinguishes the high performing community is the culture permeating the organization," said Bruce Dmytrow, Vice President, Aging Services and National Programs, CNA. "When organizations demonstrate a commitment to providing a compassionate, resident-focused culture of safety, they improve the quality of the services, enhance employee retention and mitigate major sources of risk. Such communities are the leaders, changing the industry one day at a time."

The 2016 Aging Services Claim Report is a publication of CNA's Healthcare and Risk Control units, and is the ninth study in a series of aging services claim reports published by CNA since 1998. For more information, please contact Brandon Davis at 312-822-5167 or Brandon.Davis@cna.com. Download the full study at www.cna.com/healthcare.

LeadingAge is an organization focused on education, advocacy, and applied research. Each year the annual LeadingAge Meeting connects thousands of aging services professionals representing the entire field of aging services, state partners, businesses, consumer groups, foundations, and research partners.

About CNA
Serving businesses and professionals since 1897, CNA is the country's eighth largest commercial insurance writer and the 14th largest property and casualty company.  CNA's insurance products include commercial lines, specialty lines, surety, marine and other property and casualty coverages. CNA's services include risk management, information services, underwriting, risk control and claims administration.  For more information, please visit CNA at www.cna.com. "CNA" is a service mark registered by CNA Financial Corporation with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Certain CNA Financial Corporation subsidiaries use the "CNA" service mark in connection with insurance underwriting and claims activities.

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CONTACT:
Brandon Davis, 312-822-5167 / 312-834-6091
Sarah Pang, 312-822-6394 / 312-607-5544

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SOURCE CNA